


Second Chance

by Kalta79



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Timelines, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, It's a Wonderful Life, Miscarriage, Story for the Christmas season, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-06 18:47:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12823791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalta79/pseuds/Kalta79
Summary: This was supposed to be an FFVII version of "It's A Wonderful Life", based on my The Quest story, but it ended up a mix between that and "A Christmas Carol". This is what happened in the actual 'real' timeline. Don't worry, it'll be explained.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Quest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12389709) by [Kalta79](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalta79/pseuds/Kalta79). 



“What’s going on with the orphanage’s construction?” Marlene asked Tifa while she got dressed.

“The groundbreaking will take place in two weeks on schedule.” Tifa focused on Marlene’s question instead of following Cloud. “But that architect needs to be seriously knocked around. Wanting to turn the orphanage into a castle or fortress type building…if it was a castle, I’d put him in the dungeon myself! What are you doing? Don‘t forget we‘re going shopping for more maternity clothes this afternoon.”

“Going for a walk. I’ll take care of the architect when I get back.” Marlene said as she left the room. When she got out on the porch, her phone’s special ringtone she had programmed for Reno’s calls or messages went off. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she noticed there was a text message from him. _Meet me in the hangar ASAP_. Marlene was surprised, she hadn’t heard the helicopter land, but she hurried to the newly constructed hangar, eager to see her husband again. “Reno?” Confused when she didn’t see the helicopter when she entered the hangar, she was about to turn around when the door suddenly slammed shut.

“Reno failed to say how pretty his wife is.” A man walked out of the shadows, and Marlene wondered what happened to him. He had evidence of what looked like unusual burn scars peeking out from the collar.

“Who are you?” Marlene edged closer to the toolbox and clenched one hand into a fist, while another searched for a tool she could use as a weapon.

“It doesn’t really matter, but since you won’t be telling anyone else, you can call me Manny.” Noticing the wrench she was holding behind her like a weapon, the man took out a materia from his pocket and it started glowing. “I didn’t think you’d come willingly.” 

A shockwave burst out from Manny‘s outstretched hand, and Marlene’s wedding ring glowed as the shockwave hit her with only enough force to make her stagger backwards and fall over the toolbox.

 

***

 

“Is Marlene back from her walk yet?” Tifa asked Cloud. “We’re supposed to be going shopping soon, and she said she’d finish dealing with the architect.”

“I’ll go look for her.” Cloud walked around the property, calling her name. Getting worried, he finally went into the hangar and was greeted by a disturbing scene inside. There were signs of an intense struggle with blood smeared on the floor, and in the middle of that, something was glowing. Picking it up, Cloud immediately recognized Marlene’s wedding ring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for Marlene starts

“Why is Yuffie calling me telling me the Junon team will be here in half an hour? What’s going on?“ Tifa asked her husband when Cloud burst back into the house to get the keys to the garage where _Fenrir_ was parked. Cloud took a deep breath and held out the bloody wedding ring for Tifa to see. She gasped and grabbed onto the kitchen chair to steady herself. “What’s happened to Marlene?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out. I called Reeve and told him to send the best S&R and investigative teams he’s got.” Cloud informed her.

 

***

 

Reno was flying Rude and Elena to Fort Condor when Tseng’s voice came crackling over the radio. “Change of plans. You’ve all been recalled to a new assignment.”

“That’s your house!” Rude exclaimed when Tseng gave Reno the coordinates. Reno nodded and instantly changed course, wondering what could have happened, and trying to ignore that knot of fear that formed in his stomach. 

When they got there, there were a dozen vehicles already parked in their yard. Landing on the helipad, Reno bolted out the door towards the house instead of checking all the instrumentation as was his habit before takeoff and after landing. Cloud and Tifa were in the kitchen with the team leaders, and he instantly sought them out.

“What’s going on? Where‘s Marlene?” Reno demanded to know.

Cloud and Tifa exchanged glances, then Cloud reluctantly pointed to the kitchen counter where Marlene’s bloody wedding ring was sealed in an evidence bag.

“Where is she?” Reno managed to repeat his question as he struggled to remain calm.

 

***

“What took you so long?” A woman’s voice boomed through Marlene’s aching head as she felt herself being tossed down onto a firm surface while she faded in and out of consciousness .

“You should have tried to take her down, Vena.” Manny snapped back. “She’s a Turk’s wife after all. Her damned wedding ring had protection materia embedded in it. I couldn’t even cut her finger off, I had to take the ring off myself.”

“Well, at least that means she’s important to him. We fucked up the last time, Rufus Shinra didn’t care enough about his wife.” Vena replied. “This time we’ll send a proper message.”

“We wouldn’t have bungled the last one so bad if Tomal hadn’t gotten so carried away and killed her.” Manny reminded her.

Vena shuddered. “She was lucky to have died. Tomal enjoys pain too much. I wish we didn’t need him.”

“Don’t let him ever hear you say that, and he‘s the best we‘ve got to deliver our message. Where’s Doc?” Manny asked. “I need some painkillers and my arm fixed while you secure our guest.”

 

***

 

Starting at the hangar, search teams fanned out in a grid pattern while a forensics team searched inside the hangar for any clues. Reno took over the aerial search, sending surveillance pictures back to the hastily set-up base camp for the teams.

“I found drag marks!” Cait Sith suddenly yelled, his body its own transmitter and receiver to communicate with other searchers.

Rude and Elena were closest to him, and they hurried over. “Marlene wouldn’t have gone quietly.” Elena sadly remarked as they followed the drag marks to the nearby road.

“What’s this?” Rude knelt down and picked up pieces of something. “Looks like it was her cellphone.”

“They knew it had a GPS tracker.” Elena frowned. “This was as well planned as Scarlet’s abduction. Could it be the same group?”

“More blood over here!” Cait Sith called out to them. “And…this is…”

Concerned that he wouldn’t finish his sentence, Rude and Elena walked over to see what it was, and a dangerous glint flashed through her eyes, changing to concern when she heard Reno barging through the underbrush towards them.

“What’d you find?” Reno asked them.

“Nothing you need to see.” Rude held him back.

“What is it?” Reno tried not to yell at his partner.

Elena hurriedly put disposable gloves on and put the fetus in another evidence bag, then in a paper bag in which she also put the pieces of the cellphone into. “It’s not Marlene.” was all she would tell him as she ordered Cait Sith to take the bag to the forensics team.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlene finds out why she was taken

Everyone gathered in the kitchen, for what was basically a council of war. 

“Cait Sith and I lost their tracks five miles out by the train tracks.” Cloud told everyone. He found Cait Sith annoying sometimes, but his robotic eyes could discern minute differences on the ground, making him ideal for difficult tracking. “They were smart enough to use multiple modes of transportation.”

“We don’t know how far they went on the train, they’d be more likely to jump off wherever they wanted, rather than risk being spotted at an official stop.” Tifa chimed in.

“How did Manny escape custody?” Reno’s voice was deadly calm as he glanced at the initial report on the blood in the hangar. It wasn’t all from Marlene, she had managed to wound her attacker as well. His pride at the fight she put up was severely overshadowed by the knowledge that she was beaten badly enough to lose their baby.

“Whatever organization he’s part of, they apparently have infiltrated W.R.O. as well.” Reeve sighed. “All we really know is that they’re all in their early twenties. We‘ve started an internal investigation.”

“Tseng and I are handling the interrogations personally.” Yuffie informed the group. She was grateful for her husband’s help, since he was able to remain calm, and Yuffie was finding it hard to not take Marlene’s life being in danger personally.

“They seem to have a grudge against Rufus and us.” Reno mentioned, obviously referring to the Turks.

“We’ll find her.” Elena promised her superior. She wanted to find Marlene and make her abductors suffer almost as much as Reno did. Marlene was targeted because of their relationship, and Elena had encouraged her pursuit of Reno from the beginning, so she shared some of the blame for the danger Marlene was now in.

“Before or after they do to her what they did to Scarlet?” Reno almost snarled at her. “We still haven’t found the rest of her!”

“We’ll find her.” Rude repeated the promise to his partner.

“I wonder what they do want.” Reeve wondered. He and Tseng had met in private before this meeting, deciding against telling Reno that the autopsy showed that they could have saved the baby if they had found it right away, or that it was a girl.

“When we do find where they’re holding Marlene…” Reno let his sentence trail off on purpose.

“Take no prisoners!” was the unanimous response from everyone there except Vincent, who had remained silent during the meeting. He was mostly lost in his own thoughts about the price Turks paid when they tried to have a relationship with an outsider.

 

***

 

Marlene felt different when she woke up. It wasn’t just the pain or that she was obviously bound and gagged. Something was wrong…she tried to focus on what happened to her, and Marlene fought back tears as she remembered the fight in hangar. Manny had repeatedly hit her hard enough when he got the wrench away from her to cause a miscarriage. He had dragged her to the road where a waiting truck was idling, and that’s when she lost the baby.

“So you’ve joined us.” Vena took the gag out of Marlene’s mouth.

“Who are you?” Marlene asked.

“We are the forgotten ones who never forget.” Vena replied automatically, as if she had said it many times before.

“Forget what?” Marlene’s head started aching again.

“All that Shin-Ra took from us. They orphaned us, stole everything from us, and nothing they do now will ever make up for that, not until they lose everything too. Their ivory towers will turn to dust!” Vena started getting angry.

“They orphaned me too. That’s why I’m building the orphanage, to make sure that--” Marlene tried to remember what Elena had mentioned once about freeing oneself from being tied up.

“You’re building it with Rufus Shinra’s money…blood money!” Vena interrupted. “And you married the murderer of Section 7...you’re no better than they are!” She struck Marlene so hard that the chair she was tied to toppled over.

“What are you doing?” Manny asked Vena as he walked back into the room.

“Letting her know who we are.” Vena replied. “Where have you been?”

“Finding out what’s going on. She was a good choice to deliver our message, they’re looking hard for her. She’s important to a lot of powerful people and they’re gonna find us soon unless they find her first.” Manny explained. “Quite a few of us have already been picked up by W.R.O. troops.”

While he and Vena were arguing about what to do with her, Marlene was busy trying to free herself. Her chair had been knocked over near the baseboard heater, and she was trying to use the sharp edge of it to cut her bonds. She managed to get her hands free while they were still arguing, so she hurriedly untied her feet. Marlene stood up and grabbed the chair, swinging it as hard as she could at Vena, knocking her into Manny. Flinging the door open, she ran down the hallway when a side door opened ahead of her and a man stepped out. Marlene paused when she saw him, he was handsome but something about his expression was chilling.

“Don’t let her get away!” Manny yelled out as he and Vena ran after her.

The man grabbed Marlene by her throat before she knew what happened, as Vena and Manny caught up to them.

“You’re late, Tomal.” Vena panted.

“This is her?” Tomal asked them, then looked at Marlene more intensely after they confirmed it. “You’re prettier than the last one.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlene gets rescued

“Why can’t people just leave the past where it belongs?” Yuffie wearily asked. The Shadows, for that’s the only name they were only able to extract from those they interrogated, mostly just spewed anti-Shinra hatred. They also tried occasionally to taunt Tseng by saying they were more afraid of someone named Tomal, at which point Yuffie would join in. They hadn’t told Barret much beyond the initial notification that Marlene had been abducted, because he didn‘t take the news well as they expected. He had taken it upon himself to walk along the road where Marlene was put into a vehicle and stop every motorist by firing his gun arm up into the air, and then demanding any information they had. They just let him do that, since it was better than listening to him blame Reno, which didn‘t help find Marlene.

“It’s the past that defines our future.” Tseng replied.

Yuffie stared at her husband. He usually wasn’t so philosophical…she had accepted the fact that he was kind of boring as a lifemate, but at least he was good in bed. Maybe he was more affected by Scarlet’s abduction and murder and now Marlene’s abduction than he let on. “Well, I just hope we can guarantee she has a future.”

“We’re closing in on them, and we believe Scarlet lived for a week after she was taken. Marlene’s only been gone two days.” Tseng reminded her.

“Wouldn’t they just kill her and run if we’re getting that close?” Yuffie asked.

“If she dies, they die.” Tseng promised in a voice that made Yuffie shudder.

 

***

 

“When they find me…“ Marlene was finding it harder to think with each of her ‘sessions‘ with Tomal, so she just kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

“Oh, that shouldn’t be too much longer.” Tomal assured her as he washed his hands.

“Your hour’s almost up, Tomal.” Manny stuck his head in the room. “We can’t have you going overboard like last time.”

“Already? That’s a pity…I rather like this one.” Tomal was glad that no one knew that Scarlet had actually tricked him into killing her, it would have humiliated him to have it known that he got played. She had been a disappointment anyway, she was already familiar with the techniques he tried on her. But this Marlene…she knew nothing about torture, and it was a pleasure educating her. 

 

***

 

“We’ve think we’ve got the location of their hideout.” Reeve informed Marlene‘s family.

“After we get Marlene out, I‘ll stick around there for a while.” Barret said, patting his gun arm.

“When do we leave?” Tifa asked.

“You’re not. I’m not risking you or our baby!” Cloud protested.

“I’m letting Vincent and the Turks handle Marlene’s rescue.” Reeve announced, interrupting Cloud and Tifa‘s argument. “They should be arriving at the hideout any time.”

 

***

 

“Has everyone memorized the blueprints of the building?” Reno asked as he entered the self-destruct code into the helicopter. It would take five minutes to detonate, that gave them not only enough time to skydive out, but the helicopter would keep flying long enough to be far enough away from them when it exploded to distract any perimeter guards from their approach.

“We’re fine.” Rude assured him as Elena finished putting the silencers on everyone’s weapons. They were to shoot all the guards from a safe distance, to make sure no alarms were issued, then Vincent would go in first in Chaos Beast mode and flush the rest of the Shadows out and find which room Marlene was being held in. A medical team was on standby, and the other teams would come in and clean up once it was all done.

“Let’s do this then.” Reno put his parachute on and took the gun from Elena.

 

***

 

Screams interrupted Tomal as he was just about to try something new with Marlene. “Dammit, how can I work with all these interruptions?” He got up off her and flung the door open. “What’s going on?” he asked as he saw the other Shadows running in a panic.

“It’s a monster!” one of them yelled. “Run for your life!”

“Well it looks like the cavalry for you has arrived. But I must do one more thing, dear heart.” He rolled Marlene onto her stomach, and caressed her as reached for his scalpel.

 

***

 

Vincent reverted back to his human form when he noticed an open door. Marlene had to be in there, he hadn’t found her anywhere else. When he entered the room, he found a man kneeling over her with a bloody scalpel in his hand. Changing back into his beast form, he roared and with one apparently gentle slap, Vincent sent Tomal flying into the wall.

“Vincent?” Elena’s voice rang down the hallway.

“She’s in here!” Vincent straightened out his cloak as he went and stood in the hallway to wait for them. Frequent transformations always made his cloak so messy.

Tomal recovered enough to take advantage of Vincent’s absence. He grabbed a steel pipe nearby, and even though he preferred more refined methods of brutality, sometimes sacrifices had to be made. They wanted their message delivered, he’d make sure it was. He started to bring it down on Marlene’s head when a bullet entered his brain.

“Reno, we found her!” Elena called out before she called the medics to come in.

“Reno?” Marlene knew that name, and she started crawling towards the door.

“Marlene? I’m here!” Reno rushed to his wife and knelt by her side, taking her in his arms. He gently wiped the blood off her head. Elena had stopped Tomal from doing a full-strength blow, but he still did some damage to her skull.

“I…I did try to get away.” Marlene fought against her fading consciousness, it was harder now that she knew she was safe. “I couldn’t…not strong enough.”

“You’re plenty strong enough.” Reno told her. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got you now.”

Marlene managed to smile. “I knew you’d find me.” She put her hand on his cheek, then she closed her eyes and suddenly went limp.

“Marlene? Marlene!“ Reno shook her but she didn’t respond. “Where are those damned medics?” he yelled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlene's doctor doesn't have a happy diagnosis

“It’s a pity Elena killed her torturer, I’d like to have done the job myself.” Cloud remarked to Tifa after they had gotten to the hospital. Yuffie had only told them she’d been brutalized, but refused to go into specifics. She also told them that Barret would be there as soon as he got done helping tracking down a few Shadows who weren’t at the hideout.

“Death was too good for him.” was Tifa’s only comment when she saw the nurse applying antibiotic cream to Marlene’s back where Tomal had carved _NEVER FORGET_ into her with his scalpel.

“She hasn’t woken up since we found her. The doctor is taking her sweet time figuring out what’s wrong with her.” Reno said, in his vigil at Marlene’s bedside. Tifa and Cloud were taken aback by how haggard Reno looked, and they wondered if he had slept at all in the 48 hours since he and the other Turks rescued Marlene with Vincent‘s help.

As if she had heard his complaint, the doctor showed up moments later. “I don’t have good news, I’m afraid.”

Marlene woke up then, forestalling the diagnosis. She constantly looked around at everyone there before speaking. “Who are you?” she asked, but her voice was slurred and hard to understand.

“I was afraid of this.” The doctor said. “Please, introduce yourselves to her. I need to confirm her reaction.”

“I’m Reno, your husband.” he told her, worried about what the doctor would tell them.

Marlene started giggling. “Reno? That’s a funny name.” She giggled a few moments more, then her laughter suddenly turned to tears.

“What’s wrong with her?” Tifa asked.

“If that blow to her skull had been harder, it would have left her a vegetable. As it is, it caused a stroke, and not only is her memory cortex damaged, she can’t control her feelings anymore. Whoever attacked her knew exactly what they were doing.” The doctor explained.

“What are you saying?” Cloud’s voice had a slight tremor in it.

“She’s essentially a perpetual child in a woman‘s body now. In some ways, it’s a blessing…she’s better off not knowing what was done to her. Not all monsters have fangs.” The doctor left after giving them some recommendations for future care for Marlene.

 

***

 

The doctor had only been wrong about one thing, Marlene’s subconscious memory suffered no damage. She frequently woke up in the middle of the night, crying out either for her lost baby or for Tomal to stop. Some days, Cloud and Tifa noticed that Marlene seemed to prefer Reno’s presence to anyone else’s. She would constantly try and play with him, tugging at his ponytail or starting a game of hide and seek, or she’d ask him to read her a book. Other days she would just sit around looking at everything, as if trying to have it make sense. Reno would try and care for her the best he could at first, but as the weeks since Marlene had come home from the hospital wore on, Reno started spending more and more of his time drinking and becoming increasingly moody and withdrawn. Barret wasn’t doing well either, but at least he was out chasing any lead of a cure for Marlene.

Eventually Cid volunteered one of his smaller airships suitable for solo excursions for Reno to take a break, and he and Shera would help look after Marlene. Cloud and Tifa convinced him to take Cid up on his offer, hoping it would help him stop his downward spiral. So Reno packed a bag, and on what would have been his and Marlene’s first anniversary, he found himself stopping at Aerith’s church. He didn’t know why he felt compelled to be there, but he walked in and sat down at a pew. Her flowers were still blooming beautifully, and it comforted Reno at the same time it rankled considerably. He didn’t know how long he sat there, just drinking from his flask, but finally he started talking.

“Aerith? Can you hear me? You lied to me!” Reno felt himself getting angry. “You said you always looked after Marlene…where were you when she really needed you? You let her down…you let me down too…you pushed me to marry her. You let me think she’d be safe!” Reno stood up and kicked the pew in front of him, and once he started, he couldn’t stop himself from wrecking more of the church furnishings. He punctuated his destruction with more ranting at Aerith, until he wore himself out and sat down in the midst of the rubble. “That’s what you made of our lives!”

Feeling something digging into him, he reached under him and pulled out Marlene’s wedding ring. He had been keeping it in his pocket, wondering if he should give it back to her or not. Reno was surprised it had fallen out, he kept it in a zippered pocket. Looking at the protection materia he had embedded in it, he vented the feelings he hadn‘t been able to express until now. “I…I was the one who couldn’t protect her…I knew this would happen sooner or later. She didn‘t belong in my world.” The guilt started to overwhelm him. “Maybe I don’t belong here either. Marlene wouldn’t be affected if I was dead, and if I had never been born, she‘d be safe.” 

“You don’t mean that.” The spirit of Reno’s grandmother materialized in front of him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adelaide and Aerith try and snap Reno out of his depression

“Grandma Addy?” Reno looked at his flask. “This is stronger whiskey than I thought, I need to get more of it!”

“Shame on you, young man!” Adelaide exclaimed. “You’ve been a lot of things over the years, but you’ve never been a quitter!”

“I didn’t quit, I failed her, it‘s as simple as that. It’s my fault she’s…she’s the way she is now.” Reno told his beloved grandmother.

“Is it?” Adelaide gently asked. “Take my hand and we‘ll see about that.”

Reno looked at her outstretched hand, hesitating before taking it, and when he did, the scene changed. “This is my house! What are we doing here?” he demanded.

“Hush and listen.” Adelaide shushed him.

Marlene walked into the living room where Cid and Shera were watching television. She was holding a book, and looked expectantly around. “What’s she want?” Cid asked his wife.

“Tifa told me that Marlene sometimes refused to sleep unless Reno read to her first.” Shera explained. “He’s not here, Marlene, but we’d be happy to read to you.” Marlene threw the book at the stereo in a rage and ran from the room, wailing in frustration as she pounded up the stairs to her room. 

“I hope Reno doesn‘t take too long for his vacation. Marlene needs him…she may not understand it, but she still loves him, no matter what.” Shera remarked to her husband as she picked up the book.

“I’ll go make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” Cid said, and turned the TV off as he stood up. When he entered Marlene’s upstairs room, she was giggling over her and Reno’s wedding album. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

“This man has weird hair.” Marlene pointed out Reno in the pictures.

“That’s your husband, Reno.” Cid told her.

“Reno? I know that name, don‘t I?” Marlene looked confused. “He drives a motorcycle, doesn’t he?”

“No, that’s your Uncle Cloud.” Cid reminded her.

“I like clouds. They look so soft and fluffy.” Marlene smiled.

“See? She’s just a child now.” Reno laughed bitterly. “I’ve actually got a child bride now…hey, where’s my flask?”

“No more drinking for you, and what you‘ve got is a lovely wife who needs and loves you.” Adelaide told her grandson. “That’s a lot more than you think.”

“She doesn’t even remember me, weren’t you paying attention? You could dress someone up as me, she’d never know the difference. If I was never born, she‘d be better off, and if I died now, at least she’d have the life insurance to pay for whatever care she needs.” Reno snapped back.

“You’re not the one paying attention, so we’re going to our next stop.” Adelaide told her grandson.

“I don’t want to go anywhere else except the closest bar.” Reno protested.

“Well, you’re going with me instead.” Adelaide said and Reno gave in, remembering that tone all too well from his childhood.

 

***

 

“What is this place? It‘s so cold and dark.” Reno asked.

“Wait a moment.” Adelaide replied.

Soon a door opened, and a figure entered, turning on the lights. It was a janitor, and he quickly started cleaning the room.

“This is a mausoleum!” Reno exclaimed. “Why are we here?”

“Because there’s something you need to see.” A new voice explained.

“Aerith? What do you have to do with this?” Reno was totally confused now.

“First things first…it should be right about…here.” Aerith walked over to one of the plaques on the wall. “Read what it says.”

“Marle…what the hell kinda joke is this?” Reno felt sick. “She can’t have died when she was four!”

“Yes, she could have. These are all the victims killed when the Sector 7 plate fell.” Aerith informed him. “Without you as the second-in-command of the Turks, things went very differently. I was taken back to Shin-Ra Laboratories before I met AVALANCHE, so Marlene was never put in my care. She was still at Tifa’s bar when the plate fell.”

“So you’re telling me my only two choices are for my wife to be dead or a brain-damaged perpetual child? How is that supposed to make me feel better?” Reno demanded of them. “No matter what happens, she gets a raw deal because of me!”

“Is this about you or Marlene?” Adelaide inquired.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Reno was starting to get annoyed with all this introspectiveness that wasn’t his strong suit.

“Do you really want Marlene dead?” Aerith continued the questioning.

“What the…what kinda question is that?!” Reno stared at her. “I want her to live!”

“Then you need to live too…otherwise…” Aerith let her voice trail off.

“Otherwise what? I‘ve had enough of this crap, I want to go home.” Reno stated.

“That’s where you’re going.” Adelaide promised.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aerith has to take matters into her own hands

“Now what?” Reno asked his spirit guides.

“You’re going to see how well Marlene does without you.” Adelaide told him.

Cid and Shera were having dinner with Marlene when there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it.” Cid put his fork down and got up to answer the door. “Tseng! Why are you dropp…oh don’t tell me that fool went and did it.”

Shera put down her fork as well, worried that she knew what her husband and Tseng were talking about. Cid came back moments later, obviously unhappy.

“He’s not coming home?” Shera asked, deliberately being vague to avoid alarming Marlene, who seemed unconcerned. She was more interested in playing with her mashed potatoes.

“Never. He crashed my airship! Cloud and Tifa will be arriving tomorrow morning to handle things and to take care of her.” Cid resumed eating.

“What’s an airship?” Marlene wondered.

“It’s what your fool husband--” Cid started to say.

“Cid!” Shera interrupted. “Marlene, do you remember who Reno is?”

Marlene concentrated hard. “Does he have a cloak?”

“No, that’s Vincent. Reno is your husband, he reads to you.” Shera continued.

“I like stories! Is he bringing me more books?” Marlene was happy now.

“No, he…he had an accident. He won’t be bringing you anything now. You’re a widow.” Shera gently explained.

Marlene started laughing as she finished her meal. “I can’t be a window, I’m a person, silly.”

“I guess we’ll just let Cloud and Tifa try and explain it to her.” Cid said.

 

***

 

“What is that smell?” Shera woke up in the middle of the night to some horrid stench in the air.

“It’s some kind of smoke! Get Marlene out and I’ll grab the extinguisher and find the fire.” Cid instantly became alert.

Rushing into Marlene’s bedroom, Shera was horrified to find the bed on fire. “It’s in here, Cid!”

“Stand back!” Cid aimed the fire extinguisher and quickly put out the bed blaze.

“Where is Marlene?” Shera examined the charred debris on the bed. “Is this…”

“Her and Reno’s wedding album…and this was their wedding photo.” Cid picked up the framed picture, being careful not to hurt himself on the broken glass shards. “Get your phone, we’ll find her with the GPS locator chip that they implanted in her at the hospital.”

“Where is my wife?!” Reno demanded of his grandmother and Aerith.

“There.” Aerith pointed out the window, and when Reno turned to look, he found himself in a hospital room.

“I don’t know if she knows we’re here or not, but I can’t just leave her.” Tifa told Cloud as they sat by the hospital bed where Marlene lay.

“At least she’s alive. Cid got her out of the lake just in time. The doctors still say it’s unlikely she’ll ever wake up.” Cloud replied.

“Shera said she just laughed when they told her about Reno, but she really didn’t mean it.” Tifa held on tightly to Marlene’s hand. “When she finally understood, she lost it.”

“See? You’re Marlene’s only chance for a life.” Adelaide said.

“What am I supposed to do now?” Reno looked at his grandmother and Aerith, unable to look at his comatose wife after what she‘d already been through.

“Love her. That’s all she really needs from you, your love.” Adelaide explained. “Do you promise to do that, and to remember what we showed you so it never happens?”

“I do love her!” Reno snapped back. “I don’t know how I can promise to…”

“Promise!” his grandmother demanded.

“I’ll remember.” Reno obeyed his grandmother through force of habit.

“Good lad.” Adelaide smiled. “Now we’ve got to get you back to your own body.”

“Since I did promise to watch over Marlene as well, may I have the honors, Adelaide?” Aerith asked.

“Of course, dear.” Adelaide agreed.

“Honors for what?” Reno wondered.

“Close your eyes and you‘ll find out.” Aerith told him.

Reno did so, but when nothing happened, he opened his eyes just in time to see Aerith’s fist heading towards his face. “What the…”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion

“Hell!” Reno jerked back, then looked around in surprise. He wasn’t back in Aerith’s church, he was in the air in his helicopter.

“Everything okay in there, partner?” Rude asked over the intercom.

“Are you trying to kill us before we get to Fort Condor?” Elena demanded to know.

“Uh, everything’s fine in here.” Reno quickly resumed piloting the aircraft. “Wait…what’s the date today? Nevermind, gimme your cellphone quick.” Reno realized he must have left his in the hangar at home.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rude handed his partner the phone.

“I will be.” Reno quickly dialed a number. “Cloud? No time to explain now, but Marlene’s in trouble, get to the hangar now! Please!” Hanging up the phone, he turned the intercom back on. “Change of plans, folks. Hold on tight!” Reno changed course and headed home as fast as he could, dropping Rude and Elena off for a special mission on the way. Landing rather quickly in his home hangar, Reno burst out of it and took Marlene in his arms. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine. I just need to breathe, and so does our baby.” Marlene said, and Reno relaxed his death grip on his wife. She had never seen him look so happy to see her, it was almost like he was relieved. “What‘s going on? Who is that man?”

An ugly expression came over his face as he looked towards Manny. “W.R.O. will be here soon to take charge of the prisoner. In the meantime, I’ll stand guard over him.“ Reno’s calm statement managed to somehow sound extremely dangerous, and Marlene was going to object to leaving him alone with Manny, but Cloud nodded and the swords pinning him to the wall disappeared. He and Tifa took Marlene back to the house. Reno stared hard at the would-be kidnapper. “I thought I warned you the first time about messing with a man’s wife, Manny. So I‘m wondering…who scares you more, Tomal or me?”

Manny involuntarily blanched at the name of the Shadows‘ prime torturer. “How…how do you know about him?”

“When we’re done here, you answer my question, and I’ll answer yours.” Reno replied as images of what Tomal did to Marlene flashed through his head.

 

***

 

Elena checked her dress before heading into the upscale bar. Spotting a handsome man sitting alone, she sat down two stools down from him. “Give me whatever you would be shocked to see your mother drinking.” Elena gave her order to the bartender. Once served, she downed the shot in one gulp. “Damned weakling!” she started cursing.

“Anything wrong, beautiful?” the handsome man asked.

“Yeah, my boyfriend chickened out on me.” Elena started ranting, not looking directly at the man yet.

“Maybe I can help with that.” the man offered.

Elena stopped her ranting and looked appraisingly at the man. “Maybe there is…”

In the alleyway a little while later, Elena was up against a brick wall as the man started exploring her body. “I hope _you_ won’t chicken out on me.” the man told her.

“Not a chance, Tomal.” Elena replied.

He jerked his head back and looked at her warily. “I never told you my nam…” Tomal collapsed onto the dirty pavement.

“He’s all yours, Rude.” Elena put the now empty syringe into her purse while her husband came out from behind a dumpster and flung Tomal’s unconscious body over his shoulder.

“If what Reno said is true, W.R.O. will make sure he never sees the light of day again.” Rude said as he tied Tomal up in the back of their car so they could deliver him to the closest W.R.O. detainment center.

Once back home after a quick debriefing by Yuffie, Rude and Elena showered together to get the alleyway smell off of themselves. “I’ve never seen Reno that angry before.” Rude commented.

“Seen? You weren’t even there when Manny tried to attack Marlene.” Elena pointed out.

“No, but I saw Manny’s medical records. It was personal for Reno for some reason.” Rude continued.

 

***

 

“Who is Manny?” Marlene questioned Reno later that night in bed.

“A slow learner.” was Reno’s answer.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Marlene had never seen the side of her husband that she had in the hangar. And now he was cuddling against her, putting his hands on her fattening stomach. Her husband was different now, and she wasn‘t sure why.

“All I can tell you is that some people still want Shinra to pay.” Reno admitted.

“You won’t bring your work home with you again, will you?” Marlene wanted to know.

“Not if I can help it.” Reno kissed her, as gentle with her now as he had been violent with Manny earlier. He made a mental note to find more protection materia for Marlene that he could disguise as jewelry. “You know that I love you, right?”

“I should hope so. I‘m not marrying anyone else, not after the trouble with the first wedding.” Marlene teased him. She still didn‘t know what changed him, but as he held her that night, she never felt more loved. 

 

***

 

Reno and Marlene took advantage of Cid and Shera’s wedding present and went on a family vacation for their first anniversary, not wanting to be away from their baby girl for that long yet. Marlene was pleased with how Reno doted on their daughter already, she herself found it hard not to spoil their firstborn. At his insistence, the first stop on their getaway was Aerith’s church.

“So why did you want to come here?” Marlene put Addy into the stroller and they all headed inside.

“I just wanted show off to her.” Reno told his wife.

“Show off to who?” Marlene questioned him.

“Aerith. I want to show her that I’ve got the two best women in Gaia in my house, even if one’s still in diapers.” Reno answered.

They let Addy crawl around a bit while they just sat in a pew holding each other as they watched her, and she was especially drawn to the flowers, and they had to put her back in the stroller when she wouldn’t quit trying to eat them.

“Ready to go?” Marlene handed their daughter her favorite toy to calm her down from her tantrum over being taken away from the flowers.

“Sure thing.” Reno put his hands on Marlene’s shoulders as she pushed the stroller outside to the waiting airship.

Reno paused in the doorway of the church and looked back inside. “Thank you.”


End file.
